Prof Zebulon No E15

H) Prophesy (The Dispensations of the Bible)

The word dispensation means "giving out" or "distributing" and as a third meaning the dictionary says "ruling". But when we use this term in the Bible, we mean divisions or periods. These divisions were formulated by Bible scholars, over the years, and are not necessarily defined as such in the actual text but help the reader to better comprehend the mind of God.

There are seven dispensations in the Bible and in between each there is Divine intervention that the Lord operated to move on to the next stage. Here are these dispensations and the Divine interventions.

The first one is the Dispensation of Innocence - Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:24, 25); the Divine intervention is the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden. The second one is the period of Conscience from the banishment to the flood (Gen 6 & 7). The third is the period of Government (Gen 9:1-6). The divine intervention was the tower of Babel. The fourth dispensation was the Law given to Moses (Exodus, Leviticus & Deuteronomy) The Divine intervention was the Cross of Jesus Christ. The fifth period is the Church or Grace period (the one we are now in). The divine intervention will be the Rapture of the Church that, as we have seen before, will usher in the Tribulation dispensation or the sixth period; the divine intervention after this period will be the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and all His Saints who will defeat Satan and throw him into the Lake of Fire (Rev20: 1, 2) for a thousand years. This seventh period is, of course, the Millennium dispensation. The Divine intervention after that period will be the release of Satan for a short time (Rev 20:3-10) and eventually thrown into the Lake of fire with all the unbelievers after the Great White Throne Judgment for eternity. (Rev 20: 11-15).

In the end, of course, there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth in which there will be no temple (Rev 21:22) and no need of the sun because the Son will be its Light (Rev 21:23). Isn't all this exciting and don't we have a loving Heavenly Father?

J) Doctrine (The Three Greatest Sins - an over view)

These three sins are : 1) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; 2) The Unpardonable Sin; 3) The Sin unto Death.

In our future studies, we will look at these sins one at a time; but, for the moment, lets give each one a brief description:

1) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: (Matt 12:31) "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men". This sin could only be committed during the time when Jesus was on the earth.

2) The Unpardonable Sin: (Marc 3:28-30) "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation" This sin can only be committed by non-believers.

3) The Sin Unto Death: (1 John 5:14-17) "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death". This sin can only be committed by believers.